Putin Denies Trump Campaign Collusion: ‘It’s All Invented’ to Delegitimize the President

Vladimir Putin has once again denied playing any part of a campaign to collude with President Trump or interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

In his annual press conference in Moscow, the Russian president insisted that any interactions his government had with Trump campaign officials were politically normal. He also said the notion of collusion is a fantasy to undermine Trump’s credibility, and all it does is damage the U.S.’ internal politics and international relationships.

“It’s all invented by those in opposition to Trump to make his work seem illegitimate,” said Putin. “Diplomatic representatives or even government officials hold meetings with all candidates and their teams.”

American intelligence services maintain the position that Russian operative meddled with the election in various capacities. In recent weeks, four former Trump campaign officials have been charged by Robert Mueller with regard to their Russian connections.

Despite this, Putin says that the accusations against him only show that Trump’s opposition has no respect for the election results.

“This means they don’t respect the people who voted for him,” Putin said.